Rodriguez drops out of Worlds
Today it was announced that Joaquim Rodriguez has topped the list in the UCI World Rankings, stepping ahead of Alberto Contador thanks to his fourth-place finish in the Vuelta a Espana. The next race on his calendar was to be the
World Championships in Australia as leader of the Spanish national team, but he has decided to drop out of the race.
“I was pretty excited about going to the Worlds, but I have had a very full season and accumulated a lot of physical and mental fatigue, particularly in this Vuelta a España,” said Rodriguez. “So I have to be honest with myself and
with my colleagues, and I see that the best thing for the team is for me to resign and give my place to another rider who can do better than me.”
The number-one rider is spent after following up his top-10 finish in the Tour de France with a top-five in the Vuelta. The Spanish national coach Jose De Santos has chosen Ruben Plaza, who had originally only been chosen to compete
in the time-trial, to ride on the road team as well.
Marco Pinotti has also announced he will be passing up the chance to compete in the World Championships. The Italian was competing in the Tour of Britain when he developed an ear infection, causing him to abandon the race and return to Italy.
"It's a pity because it would have been the first time I'd ridden the road race. I also think I had a chance of a medal in the time trial. Hopefully, I can recover quickly and target the Tour of Lombardy and the GP des Nations time trial. They will now be my
world championships."
Italian national coach Paolo Bettini has chosen Enrico Gasparotto to take Pinotti’s spot on the road team. Pinotti’s time-trial spot still remains empty.
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